DU 

627.18 

.H6 


DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


THE  PASSING  OF  LILIUOKALANI 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/passingofliliuok01  hodg 


Liliuokalani,  as  Hawaii’s  Queen. 

Her  Majesty  Liliu  (Lydia)  Kamakaeha  Kao/anialii  Newewelii 
Liliuokalani,  Hawaii’s  only  Queen;  and  now  the  most  lamented 
of  the  former  Sovereigns  of  the  Kingdom  of  Hawaii  who 
have  gone  out  from  the  clay.  This  picture  was  taken 
while  Liliuokalani  waved  the  scepter  of  the  Kingdom. 


THE  PASSING  OF 
LILIUOKALANI 

BY 

WM.  C.  HODGES,  Jr. 

With  illustrations  from  pkotograpKs 


Preceded  b$ 

A  Brief  Historical  Interpretation 
of  the  Life  of 
Liliuokalani  of  Hawaii 


Honolulu 

Honolulu  Star-Bulletin 
Publishers 


COPYRIGHT,  1910 

by  wm  c.  Hodges,  Jr 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


PUBLISHED  JULY,  1910 


9^11% 9 

L1A8H 


-  -  DEDICATED  TO  -  - 

THE  HAWAII  THAT  WAS 


CONTENTS 


Pa  tee 

A  Brief  Historical  Interpretation  of  the  Life  of  Liliuokalani  of  Hawaii  11 
The  Passing  of  Liliuokalani  . .  3.1 


(9) 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Frontispiece,  in  color :  Liliuokalani  as  Hawaii’s  Queen . opp.  title  page 

Page 

His  Majesty  King  Ivalakaua  . - . - . . . . .  12 

A  glimpse  of  "Washington  Place,”  the  private  residence  of  Liliuokalani  14 

The  Princess  Kaiulani  . - . .  . .  16 

Liliuokalani  at  about  twenty  years  of  age  .  18 

A  picture  of  Liliuokalani  during  the  years  of  her  prime .  20 

Bust  view  of  Liliuokalani  in  court  attire . . . .  22 

Liliuokalani  in  reception  dress,  taken  during  a  visit  to  Boston . -  24 

Autographed  photograph  of  Liliuokalani,  In  Boston .  26 

When  Liliuokalani  sat  the  Throne  of  Hawaii .  28 

Her  Majesty  during  her  seventy-fourth  year . -  30 

One  of  the  last  pictures  ever  taken  during  Liiiuokalani’s  life . -  .  32 

Second  Frontispiece,  in  color :  A  scene  in  Kawaiahao  Church  during 

tne  period  Liliuokalani  lay  in  state  . . - . opp.  35 

Another  scene  in  Kawaiahao  Church  . . . . . .  36 

The  royal  casket,  in  the  former  throne-room  of  old  Iolani  Palace .  38 

Crepe-festooned  facade  of  former  Iolani  Palace,  showing  catafalque 

drawn  up  to  steps  .  40 

The  casket  being  placed  on  the  catafalque .  42 

Bearers  of  the  crown -jewels  in  funeral  cortege . .  44 

Poolas — pullers — drawing  the  hand-drawn  catafalque . .  46 

The  catafalque,  surrounded  by  the  sacred  kahilis,  en  route  to  the 

cemetery  .  48 

One  of  the  maid  Hawaiian  societies,  in  funeral  procession. .  50 

Black-holokued  women,  marching  in  funeral  cortege .  54 

The  Queen’s  own  Troop  of  Boy  Scouts  following  the  dead  monarch .  56 

A  scene  at  the  royal  mausoleum,  showing  floral  pieces.... . . .  64 

Another  view  of  funeral  procession,  showing  wearers  of  ahuulas — 

feather  capes  . . . . . . . . .  66 

Another  scene  at  the  royal  bur.ving-ground  ;  mausoleum  at  the  right .  68 

Replica  of  the  crown  of  Hawaii,  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  Kalakaua 

dynasty,  inscription,  etc.,  mounted  on  Liliuokalani’s  casket .  TO 

(io) 


A  Brief  Historical  Interpretation 
of  the  Life  of 
Liliuokalani  of  Hawaii 


UEEN  LILIUOKALANI,  last  of  the 


^5  rulers  of  royal  Hawaii,  was  born 
September  2,  1838;  wielded  the  scepter  from 
January,  1891,  to  January,  1893.  and  died 
November  1 1 ,  1917. 

Her  father  was  Kapaakea,  and  her  mother 
Keohokalole,  one  of  the  counselors  of  King 
Kamehameha  III.  who,  in  1840  gave  the 
Hawaiian  people  their  first  written  consti¬ 
tution  Keawa-a-Heulu,  founder  of  the 
Kamehameha  dynasty,  was  her  great¬ 
grandfather  and  cousin  of  Keoua,  father  of 
Kamehameha  I.  One  of  the  first  converts 
to  Christianity,  Queen  Kapiolani,  was  Lili- 
uokalani’s  great-grand  aunt.  She  it  was 
who  publicly  defied  the  power  of  the  fire- 
goddess,  Pele,  to  embrace  the  new  religion 
brought  from  strange  lands  overseas. 


His  Majesty,  King  Kalakaua,  brother  of  Liliuokalani,  and  her  im¬ 
mediate  predecessor  on  the  throne. 


Soon  after  her  birth  Liliuokalani  was 
adopted  by  Paki,  a  high  chief,  and  his  wife, 
Konia,  a  descendant  of  the  first  Kameha- 
meha.  Their  daughter,  Bernice  Pauahi,  later 
Mrs.  Charles  R.  Bishop,  was  therefore  Lil- 
iuokalani’s  foster-sister. 

At  four  years  of  age  the  child  Liliu  was 
sent  to  the  Royal  School,  where,  says  the 
Queen  in  her  own  book.  English  was  well 
taught,  tho’  the  children  were  frequently 
hungry.  In  this  boarding  school  when 
Liliuokalani  entered  the  institution,  there 
were  five  future  Elawaiian  rulers — Kame- 
hameha  IV,  Ivamehameha  V,  Lunalilo, 
Kalakaua,  (her  brother),  and  herself. 

A  neighbor  in  her  school  days,  was  Mr. 
John  O.  Dominis,  who  afterwards  became 
her  husband,  tho'  she  had  no  lack  of  royal 
suitors.  The  father  of  Dominis  was  a  sea- 
captain  of  Italian  antecedents,  while  his 
mother  was  an  American  from  Boston,  of 
English  stock.  The  house  known  as  Wash¬ 
ington  Place,  in  Honolulu,  was  built  by 
Captain  Dominis,  as  a  family  residence.  It 
later  became  the  home  of  young  Dominis 


5? 

^  -c<. 


and  his  wife ;  and,  thereafter,  it  was  the 
home  of  the  Queen  and  widow,  when  she 
was  not  occupying  Iolani  Palace,  now  the 
executive  building  of  the  Territory,  or  her 
Waikiki  beach  resort,  or  other  temporary 
abode. 

Liliuokalani  was  a  most  studious  child 
and  well  educated  woman.  When  she  left 
the  Royal  School  she  attended  a  day  school. 
The  years  of  her  girlhood  were  passed, 
after  her  school  days  were  over,  in  the 
house  built  by  Paki,  her  adopted  father  — 
the  old  Arlington  Hotel,  which  stood  near 
where  the  modern  Honolulu  office  structure, 
the  Keauikeolani  building,  now  ornaments 
King  street,  near  Fort  street. 

Paki  died  in  1855.  Then,  Liliuokalani \s 
foster-sister,  and  her  husband,  C.  R.  Bishop, 
moved  to  that  residence,  which  still  re¬ 
mained  the  home  of  the  Princess.  It  was 
a  mansion  of  many  functions  and  much 
great  and  pleasant  company,  for,  as  we  read 
in  “Hawaii’s  Story  By  Hawaii’s  Queen,” 
from  Liliuokalani’s  own  pen,  “Mr.  Bishop 
was  a  popular  and  hospitable  man,  and  his 


(A) 


The  Princess  Kaiulani,  famed  for  her  beauty  and  hospitality,  who 
never  reached  the  throne  of  the  Kingdom. 


wife  (Bernice  Pauahi),  was  as  good  as  she 
was  beautiful.” 

In  1857  Liliuokalani’s  mother  died,  plac¬ 
ing  the  young  woman  more  under  the 
charge  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bishop.  Alexander 
Liholiho  (Kamehameha  IV,  who  reigned 
from  1854  to  1863)  was  then  on  the  throne. 
He  founded  the  Queen’s  Hospital,  so 
named  because  of  the  interest  taken  in  its 
erection  by  his  wife,  Queen  Emma;  and 
he  translated  the  English  prayer-book  into 
the  Hawaiian  language.  To  him  was  due 
the  introduction  of  the  Anglican  mission. 

Liliuokalani  was  engaged  to  John  Domi- 
nis  for  two  years,  and  it  was  their  inten¬ 
tion  to  have  married  on  the  twenty-fourth 
anniversary  of  her  birth  (1862),  but  the 
wedding  was  delayed  two  weeks  because 
the  court  was  in  mourning  for  the  little  son 
of  Kamehameha  IV,  whose  death  had  oc¬ 
curred  on  August  27th.  Rev.  Mr.  Damon, 
father  of  S.  M.  Damon,  today  Honolulu's 
senior  banker,  was  the  officiating  clergy¬ 
man.  The  ceremony  occurred  in  what  was 
later  the  Arlington  Hotel.  Honolulu’s  "400” 


Liliuokalani  at  about  twenty  years  of  age,  dressed  in  the  obtaining 
fashion  of  the  day. 


attended,  of  course.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Domi- 
nis  then  went  to  Washington  Place  to  live. 

On  the  ascension  to  the  throne  of  Prince 
Lett,  as  Kamehameha  the  Y,  the  last  of  the 
Hawaiian  monarchs  to  bear  that  name,  was 
known,  Liliuokalani’s  husband  was  ap¬ 
pointed  his  private  secretary  and  confiden¬ 
tial  adviser,  occupying  that  position  during 
Lot's  reign  of  ten  years. 

Further,  Dominis  was  made  Governor  of 
Oahu,  the  island  on  which  Honolulu  stands, 
and  remained  such  until  the  death  of  the 
King.  “Besides  this  position,”  says  Liliuo- 
kalani  in  her  memoirs,  "he  held  other  offices 
of  importance  under  the  Hawaiian  govern¬ 
ment,  being  at  one  time  Governor  of  the 
Island  of  Maui ;  commissioner  of  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  crown  lands;  attached  to  the 
suite  of  my  brother,  the  late  King  Kalakaua. 
on  his  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1874, 
in  the  interest  of  trade  reciprocity ;  and 
finally  being  a  member  of  the  Hawaiian 
embassy  which  visited  the  Lhfited  States 
and  Great  Britain  in  1887,  representing  the 
Kingdom  of  Hawaii  at  Queen  Victoria's 


A  view  of  Liliuokalani,  during  the  years  of  her  prime,  of  which 
she  was  very  fond. 


Jubilee.  But  in  the  fall  of  1891,  Governor 
Dominis,  who  was  then  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  Kingdom,  with  the  rank  of  His  Royal 
Highness  Prince  Consort,  was  in  rapidly 
failing  health ;  and  on  the  27th  of  August 
of  that  year  he  died.  His  death  occurred  at 
a  time  when  his  long  experience  in  public 
life,  his  amiable  qualities  and  his  universal 
popularity,  would  have  made  him  an  ad¬ 
viser  to  me  for  whom  no  substitute  could 
possibly  be  found. 

“I  have  often  said  that  it  pleased  the 
Almighty  Ruler  of  Nations  to  take  him 
away  from  me  at  precisely  the  time  when 
I  felt  that  I  most  needed  his  counsel  and 
companionship.” 


After  Liliuokalani  left  school,  her  musical 
education  was  continued  as  occasion  offered. 
She  wrote  the  words  and  music  for  many 
songs,  only  about  a  quarter  of  which  have 
been  preserved  in  print,  though  many  oth¬ 
ers  will,  for  a  long  time,  remain  in  the 
memory  of  her  friends.  That  which  has 
won  the  widest  popularity  was  "Aloha  Oe,’’ 


A  bust  view  of  Liliuokalani  in  court  attire,  at  the  age  of 
about  thirty. 


which  has  been  played  and  sung  wherever 
Hawaiians  have  gathered  for  the  last  twen¬ 
ty  years.  It  has  also  become  well  known 
abroad,  particularly  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  year  1869,  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh, 
Prince  Alfred  of  England,  arrived  in  Hono¬ 
lulu  in  command  of  the  Galatea.  Liliuoka- 
lani  gave  a  luau  (Hawaiian  feast)  in  his 
honor,  at  her  Waikiki  residence.  Eighteen 
years  later  they  met  again.  This  time,  in 
London  at  Oueen  Victoria’s  Jubilee.  Prince 
Alfred  was  escort  to  the  Hawaiian  Princess 
at  a  state  function ;  her  nearest  neighbor  on 
her  other  hand,  being  the  present  Emperor 
of  Germany.  Little  did  she  dream  that 
thirty  years  in  the  future,  she,  a  deposed 
monarch  of  the  lost  Kingdom  of  Hawaii,  but 
a  good  citizen  of  the  American  Territory 
of  Hawaii,  would,  from  the  flagpole  in  her 
tropical  Honolulu  garden,  fling  to  the  breeze 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  honor  of  the  day 
when  America  joined  the  world  war  against 
the  I  Inn,  and  the  despicable  ruler  who  sat 
at  her  elbow  on  that  memorable  day. 


(23) 


Liliuokalani  in  reception  dress,  taken  during  a  visit  to  Boston. 
The  Queen  was  about  thirty-five  years  of  age  at  this  time. 


Liliuokalani  appeared  as  a  history  maker 
soon  after  her  brother  Kalakaua  come  to 
the  throne.  David  Kalakaua  was  elected 
king  by  the  legislature,  February  12,  1874. 
“Rex,"  as  Kalakaua  was  often  called,  se¬ 
cured  much  of  his  support  from  Americans, 
on  account  of  his  friendliness  toward  the 
United  States,  and  his  support  of  the  pro¬ 
ject  to  secure  a  treaty  of  commercial  reci¬ 
procity  with  Hawaii's  neighbor  on  the 
northeast.  On  April  10,  1877,  Princess 
Liliuokalani  was  proclaimed  heir-apparent 
to  the  throne.  Late  in  1880  Kalakaua 
started  on  a  tour  of  the  world,  returning 
October  29,  1881.  Liliuokalani  was  regent 
during  his  absence. 

Liliuokalani's  trip  to  London  to  attend 
Oueen  Victoria’s  Jubilee  was  made  with 
Queen  Kapiolani  (Kalakaua’s  wife).  Colo¬ 
nels  Curtis  P.  Iaukea,  J.  H.  Boyd  and 
General  John  Owen  Dominis  (her  hus¬ 
band).  The  party  left  Honolulu  on  April 
12,  1887.  Kapiolani  and  Liliuokalani  were 
received  everywhere  with  great  attention. 

As  Princess  Liliu  (Lydia)  Kamakaeha, 


Another  picture  of  Liliuokalani  taken  'while  in  Boston.  Note  the 
autograph  at  the  lower  right-hand  corner.  The  remain¬ 
der  extended  out  onto  the  mounting  of  the  picture 
and  was  cut  off  in  reproduction.  Original 
was  presented  to  the  author. 


heir-apparent,  and  regent  in  her  brother's 
absence,  Liliuokalani  was  hostess  at  many 
royal  functions  and  festivals.  In  December. 
1890,  while  Kalakaua  was  on  his  last  trip 
to  the  United  States,  she  gave  a  particu¬ 
larly  brilliant  and  memorable  reception  in 
lolani  Palace. 

Kalakaua’s  health  was  failing.  His  reign 
was  troubled.  Constitutional  monarchy  was 
not  all  that  it  might  have  been.  Stren¬ 
uous  struggles  between  autocratic  idealists 
were  ever  occurring.  The  cabinet  contin¬ 
ually  underwent  change. 

Came  the  day  when  Kalakaua  was  due 
to  return  from  San  Francisco.  Great  prepa¬ 
rations  were  made  for  his  welcome  home. 
But  the  King  was  dead.  There  was  no 
cable  in  those  days,  and  Hawaii  could  not 
know  that  Kalakaua  had  died.  His  death 
occurred  January  20,  1891,  in  the  Palace 
Hotel,  San  Francisco.  The  remains  were 
brought  to  Honolulu  aboard  the  U.  S.  S. 
Charleston,  arriving  January  29. 

And  on  that  day- —  when  the  flag  at  half- 
mast  on  board  the  battleship  announced  to 


(27) 


When  Liliuokalani  sat  on  the  throne  of  Hawaii  as  its  beloved  Sov¬ 
ereign.  The  background  shows  a  royal  feather  cape. 


Hawaii  the  passing  of  Hawaii’s  King  — 
Liliuokalani  was  proclaimed  ruler  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands. 

On  March  9th,  the  Princess  Victoria 
Kaiulani,  daughter  of  the  late  Princess  Like- 
like  (sister  of  Liliuokalani )  and  Archibald 
S.  Cleghorn,  since  deceased,  was  appointed 
heir-apparent. 

And  then  the  new  Queen  —  seven  months 
later  —  lost  her  husband,  when  she  most 
needed  his  counsel. 

W  ith  enemies  among  her  supposed  friends 
the  Queen  was  often  ill-advised.  She  made 
mistakes.  Her  opponents  rejoiced  in  her 
errors ;  her  friends  too  often  resented  wise 
restrictions  on  the  power  of  the  crown. 
Her  political  opponents,  not  necessarily  her 
personal  enemies,  would  have  nothing  but 
restrictions. 

Monarchy,  constitutional  or  otherwise, 
was  soon  to  he  a  memory  of  a  Hawaiian 
yesterday.  Liliuokalani’s  two  years  on 
the  throne  were  stormy.  On  January  17, 
1893,  she  was  deposed.  According  to  “Ha¬ 
waii's  Story  by  Hawaii's  Queen,"  the  revo- 


(29) 


— — — 


An  excellent  likeness  of  Her  Majesty  during  her 
seventy-fourth  year. 


lutionists  were  conspirators.  According 
to  the  revolutionists,  they  were  saving  the 
islands  from  ruin.  The  important  point, 
historically,  is  that  the  revolution  was  suc¬ 
cessful.  There  are  many  who  excuse  or 
explain  the  methods  of  the  revolutionists  ; 
but  few  there  are  who  boast  of  them. 

A  provisional  government  followed  the 
fallen  monarchy,  and,  on  July  4.  1894,  it 
become  the  Republic  of  Hawaii.  Judge 
Sanford  B.  Dole,  who  had  acted  as  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  Provisional  government,  was 
then  elected  President  of  the  new  republic. 

During  the  period  immediately  following 
her  overthrow  Liliuokalani  was  removed  to 
the  Royal  Palace  and  made  a  political 
prisoner,  then  charged  with  high  treason 
by  the  Provisional  government.  She  was 
thusly  detained  for  several  months,  ulti¬ 
mately,  however,  being  released  after  a 
hard-fought  trial  which  resulted  in  her  con¬ 
viction  ;  the  sentence  being  a  parole,  which 
gradually  diminished,  with  time,  in  its  re¬ 
strictions. 

The  United  States  annexed  the  islands  in 


(31) 


One  of  the  last  pictures  ever  taken  of  Liliuokalani,  taken  on  the 
lanai  ( veranda )  of  her  home,  shortly  before  she 
took  to  her  final  bed. 


1898,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  being  raised  in 
Honolulu  on  August  12  of  that  year.  On 
June  14,  1900,  the  present  American  terri¬ 
torial  government  was  inaugurated,  and 
President  Dole  then  became  Governor  Dole 
— ■  the  first  governor  of  the  new  American 
Territory. 

Hawaii  is,  at  this  writing,  in  her  eigh¬ 
teenth  year  as  a  daughter  of  Hail  Columbia ! 

As  much  as  she  condemned  the  leaders  of 
the  revolution,  and  as  strenuously  as  she 
fought  for  her  restoration  at  the  hands  of 
official  Washington,  Liliuokalani  grew  to 
understand  that  her  beloved  Hawaii,  and  its 
people,  had  at  last  come  to  safe  fortune 
under  the  folds  of  Old  Glory.  And  she  often 
expressed  this  conviction  during  her  de¬ 
clining  years. 

The  Territorial  government  allowed  her 
a  substantial  annuity,  and  she  continued  to 
reside  in  beautiful  Washington  Place,  de¬ 
voting  herself  to  educational  and  literary 
works.  She  disposed  of  much  of  her  prop¬ 
erty  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  orphans  and 
destitute  children,  as  well  as  devoting  much 
time  to  various  other  charitable  works 


(33) 


•  S 


Kawaiahao  Church  during  the  period  Liliuokalani  Icy  in  state  on  the  open  bier,  sur 
rounded  by  kaleidoscopic  and  colorful  splendor;  showing  the  sacred 
kahilis,  tabu-sticks  and  kahili-watchers. 


The  Passing  of  Liliuokalani 


Wm.  C.  Hodges,  Jr. 

/gafT.  ANDREW’S  bells  tolled,  and 
J  Honolulu  knew  it  had  come  —  the 
passing  of  Hawaii’s  last  and  most  gracious 
Queen,  Liliu  (Lydia)  Kamakaeha  Kaola- 
malii  Liliuokalani ;  poet,  authoress,  musi¬ 
cian,  brilliant  and  regal  hostess,  charming 
personage,  honored  and  respected  figure  of 
the  highest  court  circles  of  the  world,  last 
connecting  link  between  the  monarchial 
Hawaii  that  was,  and  the  United  States 
Territory  of  today  and  lastly,  and  most 
pronouncedly,  the  most  beloved  and  idol¬ 
ized  of  all  Hawaii's  alii  (royalty). 

All  Hawaii  had  been  breathlessly  await¬ 
ing  the  word  for  several  days,  while  the  ex- 
Queen  rallied  and  sank  in  the  throes  of  her 
last,  lingering  illness.  She  had  been  notably 
failing  for  a  number -of  months,  conse¬ 
quently,  the  end  was  not  entirely  unexpected. 


(35) 


hjj 

1PPV  .Ip'll 

Another  scene  in  Katvaiahao  Church,  after  the  Queen’s  body  had  been  sealed  in  the  casket.  A  large  ahuula  is  draped  over 
the  foot  of  the  casket,  and  King  Kalakaua’s  famous  tabu-stick — the  round  ball  on  the  end  of  a  stick — 

shows  in  the  center  of  the  picture. 


She  had  lived  a  full  life  in  years,  being" 

J  7  o 

seventy-nine  when  she  died,  and  a  much 
fuller  one  in  experience  and  tribulation. 

'Twas  in  the  early  brightness  of  one  of 
those  wondrously  quiet  and  soothing  tropic 
Sunday  mornings  —  at  about  eight-thirty  on 
November  the  eleventh  —  that  the  most 
pathetic  and  respected  figure  in  the  history 
of  the  former  romantic  Island  Kingdom 
departed  in  spirit  from  Washington  Place 
—  the  Queen’s  lovely  private  residence  —  to 
join  the  spirits  of  those  others  of  Hawaiian 
alii  who  had  gone  before  her. 

For  several  days  it  had  been  known  that 
the  Queen  was  dying;  the  newspapers  of 
the  Territory  held  in  momentary  readiness 
“extras,”  to  be  released  only  after  filling-  in 
the  time  of  her  actual  demise.  Certain 
preparations  and  arrangements,  usually  en¬ 
tirely  post-mortem,  had  been  made  by  those 
closest  to  Her  Majesty;  and  hundreds  of 
native  survivors  of  the  Hawaii  of  old  visited 
Washington  Place  to  chant  and  sing  their 
olis  (songs)  to  their  dying  Queen — weep¬ 
ing  copious  and  reverent  tears  the  while. 


(37) 


The  wonderfully  beautiful  koa-wood  casket,  especially  built  to  receive  the  body  of  the  Queen „  as  it  rested  on  royal  feather 
ahuulas — capes — in  the  throne  room  of  former  lolani  Palace,  where  once  Liliuokalani  waved  the  scepter 

as  Monarch  of  the  Kingdom. 


An  atmosphere  akin  to  that  of  suspended 
animation  pervaded  the  entire  city  of  Hono¬ 
lulu,  and  all  seemed  funereal  in  mein  hours, 
even  days,  before  the  royal  spirit  of  the 
Great  Chiefess  passed  from  out  the  realm 
of  things  mundane. 

At  midnight  of  the  day  following  that 
during  which  the  death  angel  had  laid,  for 
the  last  time,  for  all  time,  its  grim  hand  in 
the  ranks  of  Hawaiian  royalty ;  and  after 
the  ancient  Hawaiian  custom  of  funeral 
ceremonies,  the  mortal  remains  of  Liliuoka- 
lani  were  borne,  with  all  the  actions  of 
respect  accorded  dead  monarchs  of  the  for¬ 
mer  kingdom,  from  her  home  to  the  ancient 
Hawaiian  Kawaiahao  church,  there  to  lie  in 
royal  state  for  a  period  of  one  week,  or 
until  the  arrival  of  the  next  Sunday — since 
royalty  must  always  be  buried  on  the  Sab¬ 
bath  day. 

Leaving  Washington  Place  for  the  last 
time,  the  royal  remains  lying  on  an  open 
bier,  canopied  by  a  royal  yellow  pall,  were 
placed  by  tender  hands  in  a  closed  hearse 
which  took  its  place  in  the  procession  that 


(39) 


Facade  of  former  lolani  Palace — now  the  Executive  Building  of  the  Territory  of  Hawaii,  showing  the  crepe-festooned 
entrance,  with  the  catafalque  drawn  up  to  the  foot  of  the  steps,  awaiting  the'  casket  and  its  burden  of  royalty. 


was  to  accompany  it  to  the  church,  follow¬ 
ing  immediately  after  a  double  line  of 
kahili-bearers,  led  by  the  two  royal  torch- 
bearers.  The  hearse  being  followed,  in 
turn,  by  two  long  lines  of  old  Hawaiian 
men  and  women  bearing  other  kahilis  and 
torches ;  these  escorts  incessantly  chanting 
the  sacred  olis  to  the  royal  dead. 

Kahilis  are  myriad  in  style  and  signifi¬ 
cance,  and  pertain  only  to  things  royal, 
consisting  of  a  long  pole  —  or  stick,  in  the 
smaller  kind.  The  top  end  is  profusely  and 
varyingly  adorned  with  the  feathers  of  in¬ 
numerable  varieties  of  now  practically  ex¬ 
tinct  birds  of  the  islands.  The  feathers  are 
variously  dyed,  and  their  arrangement  varies 
greatly,  as  does  their  character,  according  to 
the  significance  of  each  differentiating  style 
of  kahili. 

A  flaming  torch  was  the  emblem  of  the 
Kalakaua  dynasty,  of  which  Liliuokalani 
was  a  descendant  —  and  must  always  accom¬ 
pany  the  funeral  corteges  of  members  of 
the  dynasty. 

Certain  kahilis,  designated  for  use,  only, 


on  its  final  journey.  This  gives  a  good  view  of  the  kahilis. 


in  accompanying  royal  dead,  when  being 
moved  from  one  place  to  another,  must 
never  be  moved  but  under  certain  condi¬ 
tions,  one  being  that  the  hour  of  midnight 
obtain.  This  accounts  for  the  removal  of 
the  Queen’s  remains  at  that  hour ;  neither 
must  a  royal  corpse  be  moved  without  the 
accompanying  presence  of  the  prescribed 
kahilis,  among  other  provisions  for  such 
occasions. 

In  the  olden  days,  all  royalty  and  court 
attaches  of  high  rank,  chiefs,  etc.,  in  affairs 
of  state  wore  alniulas  —  small  capes,  also 
of  the  feathers  of  rare  birds.  The  remain¬ 
ing  comparative  few  of  these  capes  were 
worn  by  certain  of  those  attendant  on,  and 
participating  in,  the  many  and  varying  cere¬ 
monies  included  in  the  extensive  funeral 
rites  enacted  over  Liliuokalani. 

Historic  old  Kawaiahao  church  was  made 
the  scene  of  indescribable  beauty  and  picture¬ 
squeness  for  the  reception  of  the  Queen's 
body.  And  into  the  very  center  of  this 
unique  setting  was  conveyed  the  royal  bier, 


(4.t) 


Bearers  of  the  crown-jewels,  who  immediately  preceded  the  catafalque  to  the  cemetery.  The  figure  at  the  left  is  the  Honor¬ 
able  John  Baker,  fotmer  Governor  of  the  Island  of  Hawaii,  under  Kalakaua,  and  the  man  who  was  chosen 
to  pose  for  the  statue  of  Kamehameha  I,  which  now  stands  before  the  Judiciary  Building  in  Honolulu. 

The  man  at  the  right  is  Lieutenant  Oku,  of  the  Imperial  Japanese  Navy,  with  the  decoration 
presented  to  Her  Majesty  by  the  Mikado  of  Japan. 


immediately  the  weird  cortege  arrived  at 
the  church. 

The  bier  was  laid  upon  a  large  and 
beautiful  table  of  the  native  Hawaiian  koa 
wood.  The  pall  was  lifted  and  Her  Majestv 
lay  at  full  length,  and  in  attitude  of  peace¬ 
ful  repose,  as  though  but  asleep  in  her  fav¬ 
orite  bedroom,  a  stone’s  throw  away. 

The  burial  gown  was  fashioned  after  the 
native  holoku  (loose  mother-hubbard),  and 
beautifully  made  of  rich  brocaded  silk, 
trimmed  with  delicate  point  lace.  The 
peaceful,  but  a  trifle  drawn,  face  of  the 
eternal  sleeper  was  lightly  veiled  by  a  wisp 
of  tule.  In  the  sleep  of  death.  Her  Majesty, 
according  to  her  expressed  wish,  was  again 
crowned  with  the  diadem  of  her  former 
Kingdom,  which  she  had  not  worn  since  her 
dethronement  in  1893.  Other  crown  jewels 
were  brought  forth  from  the  chill  vaults 
wherein  they  had  reposed  in  darkness  for 
so  many  years,  that,  for  the  last  time,  they 
might  again  adorn  their  queenly  mistress. 
These  included  a  beautiful  bracelet  pre¬ 
sented  to  Her  Majesty  by  the  Duke  of 


(45) 


View)  of  a  number  of  the  poolas — pullers — of  the  hand-drawn  catafalque  ( there  were  two  hundred  and  ten)  on  which  the 
remains  of  Hawaii’s  only  Queen  were  borne  to  their  final  resting  place. 


Edinburgh,  while  visiting  Honolulu  years 
before. 

A  picturesquely  beautiful  and  fantastic 
picture  was  Her  Majesty  as  she  lay  in  state 
in  the  church  of  her  childhood,  and  her 
people;  surrounded  by  the  most  beautiful, 
royal,  stately,  colorful  and  sacredly-tabu 
collection  of  ancient  and  priceless  kahilis  — 
soon  to  be  looked  on  as  but  relics  of  a 
kingdom  vanished  into  oblivion. 

According  to  old  Hawaiian  custom,  the 
dead-watch  must  never  lag;  consequently 
the  bier,  flanked  on  both  sides  by  rows  of 
kahili-bearers,  with  the  watch-captain  at  the 
foot  facing  the  Queen,  was  constantly  at¬ 
tended,  from  the  hour  of  its  impressive 
arrival  at  the  church  until  its  departure  — 
and  even  after. 

The  outer  file  of  watchers  bore  a  tall 
and  large  variety  of  the  kahili,  while  the 
inner  rank  carried  much  smaller  ones,  which 
they  waved  in  regular  horizontal  ryhthm,  in 
the  prescribed  manner,  over  the  royal  bier. 
The  watches  consisted  of  two-hour  periods 
each,  and  comprised  members  of  certain 


(47) 


The  catafalque  as,  surrounded  and  followed  by  sacred  kahilis,  it  passed  through  the  lines  of  countless  thousands  of  rev¬ 
erent  watchers  who  assembled  along  the  line  of  march  en  route  to  the  royal  burial  plot,  in  huuanu  Cemetery, 
high  up  in  the  valley  of  that  name,  above  the  City  of  Honolulu. 


Hawaiian  societies  to  which  fell  the  honor¬ 
able  and  silent  duty  of  thus  serving  —  since 
speech  among  the  kahili-watchers  was  strict¬ 
ly  tabu  while  on  duty. 

The  facade  of  the  quaint  old  church  pre 
sented  a  study  in  black  and  white;  the 
mourning  black  festooned  strikingly  against 
the  white  pillars  and  coral-stone  walls  and 
entrance  foyer.  The  interior  was  bizarre 
and  kaleidoscopic ;  practically  every  known 
color,  shade  and  tint  was  so  harmoniously 
blended  as  to  at  once,  to  a  degree,  alleviate 
the  pervading  funereal  atmosphere,  and  lent 
a  tone  of  quiet  dignity  to  the  unusual  scene. 

It  is  doubt ful  if  anywhere  else  but  in 
Hawaii  was  ever  such  a  scene  set. 

The  royal  remains  lay  in  state  from  the 
midnight  of  their  arrival  until  the  dusk  of 
the  following  Saturday,  when  they  were 
ceremoniously  removed  to  the  former 
Throne  Room  of  erstwhile  Iolani  Palace, 
once  the  palatial  home  of  she  who  had 
departed. 

Every  day  and  night  —  in  fact,  every 
hour,  for  which  Her  Majesty  lay  in  state 


(49) 


One  of  the  male  Hawaiian  societies  following  the  remains  of  their  former  Sovereign  to  her  cradle-of-all-time. 


in  the  church  there  were  different  tradition¬ 
ally  prescribed  ceremonies,  accompanied, 
incessantly,  by  the  waving  of  the  sacred 
kahilis.  Innumerable  olis,  prayers,  chants 
and  meles  were  offered  ;  and  the  significance 
of  each  were  ecpially  numerous. 

All  throughout  the  day,  and  far  into  the 
night  of  the  Tuesday  following  the  placing 
of  the  royal  bier  in  the  church,  countless 
thousands,  representing  all  nationalities, 
ages  and  conditions  of  life,  silently  passed, 
with  evident  reverence,  into,  and  out  of 
the  royal  presence,  paying  last  homage  to 
the  dead  Queen. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  no  one  who 
was  fortunate  enough  to  be  present  early 
on  this  notable  Tuesday  morning  is  likely 
to  ever  forget  one  of  the  first,  and  perhaps 
the  simplest,  bits  of  homage  paid  the  be¬ 
loved  Queen  :  The  singing,  by  the  ladies  of 
one  of  the  kahili-watches,  of  the  Queen’s 
own  “Aloha  Oe."  The  tender  rendition  of 
this  now  famous  refrain  from  Liliuokalani's 
prolific  pen,  seemingly  brought  home  to  the 
somewhat  dazed  consciousness  of  the  as- 


(5i) 


semblage  the  fact  that,  indeed,  was  Liliu 
departed  forever,  and  that  the  time  of  the 
final  aloha  was  come.  Tears  came  uncom¬ 
manded  to  every  eye  in  the  place,  and  many 
were  moved  to  audibility.  Nothing  else 
throughout  the  entire  week  of  ceremonies 
seemed  to  so  move  every  living  soul  within 
earshot.  ’Twas  as  if  the  very  heart  and  soul 
of  every  one  present  was  physically  attempt¬ 
ing  to  escape  the  body,  that  it  might  ascend 
to  the  spirit  of  the  noble,  dead  ruler  of  a 
vanquished  kingdom  —  there  to  dwell  in 
eternal  communion. 

Immediately  the  last  of  the  reluctant 
throng  had  passed  out  through  the  crepe- 
festooned  portals  of  the  church,  late  in  the 
night  of  that  memorable  Tuesday,  the  steel 
coffin  was  brought  into  the  church,  and,  in 
the  presence  only  of  Prince  and  Princess 
Kalanianaole,  Col.  Curtis  P.  laukea  (former 
Chamberlain  in  the  courts  of  King  Kalakaua 
and  Lihuokalani,  and  secretary  to  the  latter 
until  her  death),  and  two  very  old  Hawai¬ 
ian  women,  the  funeral  directors  tenderly 
lifted  the  withered  form  of  Hawaii’s  last 


(52) 


Queen  into  the  cradle-of-all-time  and  her¬ 
metically  sealed  it.  It  was  then  covered, 
excepting  the  face-glass,  with  a  pall  of  royal 
yellow,  heavily  embroidered  with  the  coat- 
of-arms  of  the  Kalakaua  dynasty. 

The  remaining  days  during  which  the 
queenly  remains  lay  in  state  in  the  church 
were  consumed  with  the  many,  many  weird, 
unique  and  quaintly-sacred  Hawaiian  funeral 
rites.  And  after  that  memorable  first  Tues¬ 
day,  as  if  by  tacit  understanding,  the  gen¬ 
eral  and  considerate  public,  for  the  most 
part,  all  but  gave  over  the  entire  proceed¬ 
ings  to  those  of  native  blood.  The  usual 
morbidity,  which  oddly  seems  to  predicate 
much  curious  visiting  by  superficial  crowds 
at  such  occasions,  was  notably  and  happily 
absent.  Those  who  appeared  on  the  scene 
did  so  with  the  air  of  those  who  desired  to 
do  sincere  homage  to  a  great  personage  in 
the  hour  of  her  passing  into  the  realm  of 
immortals. 

Shortly  before  dusk  on  Saturday,  Novem¬ 
ber  the  seventeenth,  the  steel  coffin  contain¬ 
ing  all  that  remained  on  earth  of  she  who 


(S3) 


A  section  of  the  funeral  cortege  of  Liliuokalani,  formed  by  marching,  black-holokued  women  of  one  of  the  many  Hawaiian 

societies  of  a  like  nature. 


was  no  more,  together  with  the  sacred 
kahilis,  the  numberless  floral  pieces  and 
other  appurtenances  to  the  occasion,  were 
again  ceremoniously  removed.  This  time, 
to  be  conveyed,  according  to  the  custom 
prevalent  in  monarchial  days,  to  the  Throne 
Room  of  the  former  royal  palace  —  the 
room  in  which,  as  a  court  belle,  Liliu  had 
danced  and  led  in  the  merry-makings  of  the 
court  circles,  while  her  brother  Kalakaua 
sat  the  Throne,  as  ruler  of  the  Kingdom. 

All  the  accompanying  dictates  of  ancient 
tradition  were  punctiliously  observed,  even 
to  the  action  of  the  elements ;  for  the  pro¬ 
verbial  rains  had  properly  fallen  (accord¬ 
ing  to  the  legends  of  old  Hawaii )  during 
the  period  in  which  the  royal  dead  lay  in 
state.  Liquid  precipitation  at  such  times 
signifies,  in  the  lore  of  Hawaii,  that  the 
spirit  of  the  departed  alii  has  found  favor 
in  the  heavens,  and  that  a  place  has  been 
fittingly  prepared  for  the  royal  spirit  there 
to  abide  in  everlasting  peace. 

Thus,  with  all  favoring  omens  in  perfect 
accord,  and  on  the  day  following  the  usually 


(55) 


is  shown  at  the  left  of  the  picture. 


celebrated  birthday  of  Kalakaua,  the  Throne 
Room  of  the  old  palace,  once  the  rendevous 
of  royalty,  and  where  the  “Merry  Monarch,” 
as  Kalakaua  was  popularly  known,  and  his 
sister,  Liliuokalani,  had  both  waved  the 
royal  scepter,  became  the  scene  of  one  of 
the  final  episodes  in  the  sadly-picturesque 
drama  of  the  passing  of  the  Hawaii  of  old. 

Immediately  the  royal  cortege  and  its 
sleeping  burden  arrived  in  the  magnificently 
decorated  Throne  Room,  the  pall  was  re¬ 
moved  from  the  steel  coffin  and  it  was 
placed  in  a  wonderfully  beautiful,  and 
especially  built,  casket.  This  outer  casket 
was  made,  in  the  main,  of  the  marvelously 
grained  Hawaiian  koa  wood,  trimmed  with 
kou  wood,  also  indigenous  to  the  islands. 
Its  highly  polished  exterior  was  truly  a  work 
of  art  and  surpassing  beauty.  On  the  cover 
were  mounted  engraved  silver  plates  —  the 
crown  of  the  Kingdom  of  Hawaii,  and  the 
coat-of-arms  of  the  Kalakaua  dynasty. 
These,  too,  were  especially  made  and  en¬ 
graved. 

All  throughout  the  long  night  the  Queen 


(57) 


lay  in  the  Throne  Room  of  the  palace,  the 
kahili-watches  were  made  eloquent  by  the 
nnforgetable  Hawaiian  wail  for  the  dead. 
There  is  no  other  sound  quite  like  the  Ha¬ 
waiian  dead-wail ;  no  other  sound  could 
possibly  have  within  it  the  same  wild,  weird 
note  of  primitive  grief,  and  the  storming 
of  outraged  agony  that  refuses  to  submit 
to  the  onrushing  ages  and  their  ever- 
advancing  changes. 

Not  beginning  in  a  low  murmur  and  rising 
in  an  ever-increasingly  voluminous  crescen¬ 
do  until  the  very  atmosphere  is  seemingly 
surcharged  with  its  melody,  as  do  many  of 
the  wails  peculiar  to  the  funeral  ceremonies 
of  the  Hawaiians ;  the  wails  that  filled  the 
air  during  that  memorable  Saturday  night 
were  entirely  different.  There  was  nothing 
of  gentleness  in  them.  They  began  with  a 
piercing  shriek  of  agony,  as  if  in  protest 
against  nature,  time  and  man,  ending  quite 
as  loudly  and  abruptly  as  begun.  It  was  as 
if  the  wailers  were  wittingly,  but  perforce, 
sounding  the  death-cry  of  their  very  race. 


When  the  bright  rays  of  the  Hawaiian  sun 
broke  through  the  tropic  clouds,  dappling 
the  azure  heavens  of  the  succeeding  perfect 
Sabbath  morning,  Hawaiian  history  was 
written  for  all  time;  and  all  that  was  mor¬ 
tal  of  ex-Queen  Liliuokalani  of  Hawaii  was 
given  stately  burial,  amid  scenes  of  super¬ 
lative  beauty,  vivid  color  and  impressive¬ 
ness;  combining  ancient  and  modern  days 
—  the  regime  of  a  Pacific  monarchy  and  a 
Territory  of  the  United  States. 

Time  was  turned  back  the  span  of  three 
decades,  there  in  the  Throne-room,  with  its 
present-day  furnishings  replaced  by  the  em¬ 
blems  of  the  glories  of  other  years  forming 
the  setting  for  the  funeral  ceremonies  over 
the  body  of  she  who  last  ruled  a  happy  peo¬ 
ple  from  the  Throne,  which  in  days  of  old, 
dominated  the  scene  now  so  differently  set. 
because  that  beloved  Queen  was  gone  to  the 
great  beyond. 

From  ten  to  eleven-thirty,  the  impressive 
funeral  services  were  read  by  haole  (white) 
clergy,  while  little  else  within  the  vision  of 
those  in  the  room  suggested  the  existence 


(59) 


of  anything  but  that  which  was  purely  Ha¬ 
waiian. 

The  cessation  of  the  death  wail,  which 
shall  never  be  heard  again,  was  immediately 
followed  by  a  soft,  sweet  chanting  in  Ha¬ 
waiian  of  Queen  Liliuokalani’s  name  song, 
which  was  sung  the  first  time  when  the  name 
“Liliu”  was  given  the  baby  by  her  father. 
As  this  chant  died  away  on  the  perfume- 
ladened  air  of  the  great  room,  the  clergy 
entered  and  took  their  stand  beside  the  dias, 
beginning-  at  once  the  services. 

At  the  foot  of  the  casket,  and  at  either 
side  of  the  great  puloulou  (tabu-stick)  of 
Kalakaua,  stood  two  court  officers  bearing 
the  crown  jewels  and  decorations  of  Liliu- 
okalani.  One  of  the  officers,  John  T.  Ba¬ 
ker,  was  under  Kalakaua,  Governor  of  the 
Island  of  Hawaii ;  and  in  later  years  posed 
for  the  great  statue  of  Kamehameha  I, 
which  stands,  today,  on  a  pedestal  before 
the  judiciary  building  of  the  Territory,  just 
across  the  street  from  the  former  palace. 

Between  these  two  officers  and  imme¬ 
diately  behind  the  puloulou,  stood  Lieut. 


(60) 


Oku,  of  the  Imperial  Japanese  Navy,  bear¬ 
ing  the  Japanese  decoration  presented  her 
Majesty  by  the  Mikado. 

With  the  final  amen,  Lucius  E.  Pinkham, 
Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Hawaii,  and 
his  staff,  slowly  left  the  Throne-room,  and 
the  assemblage  moved  out  onto  the  wide 
lanais  (verandas)  surrounding  the  old  build¬ 
ing-,  where  it  held  its  place  until  the  feather- 
caped  kahili,  and  pall  bearers  passed  out 
with  the  casket  and  its  inner  burden  of  steel 
and  royalty. 

At  this  point  the  burning  torches,  sym¬ 
bolic  of  the  Kalakaua  dynasty,  were  lighted, 
and  their  bearers  took  their  places  at  the 
head  of  the  catafalque,  on  which  the  casket 
was  placed  for  its  final  journey  to  the  royal 
mausoleum  in  Nuuanu  cemetery,  high  up, 
in  the  valley  of  the  same  name,  above  the 
City  of  Honolulu. 

The  placing  of  the  casket  upon  the  hand- 
drawn  catafalque  was  accompanied  by  fur¬ 
ther  rythmic  chants,  by  old  Hawaiians,  of 
other  rites;  as  the  poolas  (pullers),  more 
than  two  hundred  of  them,  began  drawing 


(61) 


taut  their  black  and  white  swathed  ropes, 
preparatory  to  the  journey. 

Never  before  in  Hawaii,  and  probably 
never  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  has 
such  a  funeral,  uniting  such  diversified  ele¬ 
ments  and  striking  contrasts  of  color,  cus¬ 
tom,  nationality  and  settings  taken  place,  as 
was  Liliuokalani's.  And  nowhere  but  in 
Hawaii — and  that  never  again — could  such 
a  picture  be  produced  as  was  given  to  sight 
of  the  thousands,  as  the  Queen’s  casket  was 
borne  on  its  black-silk-crepe-hung  cata¬ 
falque  to  the  royal  mausoleum. 

When  Liliuokalani  breathed  her  last,  the 
land  she  loved  so  well  was  being  visited  by 
a  large  party  of  United  States  Congressmen  ; 
the  famous  Ishii  mission  was  in  Honolulu, 
en  route  back  to  its  own  japan,  after  its  im¬ 
portant  political  visit  to  Washington,  and  a 
warship  of  the  Flowery  Kingdom  was  also 
in  port.  These,  together  with  the  extensive 
military  representation  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  paid  honor  to  the  dead  queen 
and  had  place  in  the  long  and  stately  pro¬ 
cession  which  followed  the  catafalque  to  the 


(62) 


crypt.  There  were  also  honor  contingent- 
from  the  many  schools  of  the  City. 

As  the  catafalque  slowly  drew  away  from 
the  steps  before  the  capital,  a  battalion  of 
United  States  field  artillery,  drawn  up  on 
the  spacious  lawn,  fired  a  salute  of  twenty- 
one  guns,  the  highest  honor  the  military  is 
capable  of  conferring  on  the  dead. 

Notable  in  the  procession  were  several 
men  who,  as  prominent  figures  in  the  revo¬ 
lutionary  days  of  the  monarchy,  had  suf¬ 
fered  imprisonment  in  the  cause  of  the  queen 
to  whom  they  now  paid  their  final  earthly 
respects.  Also,  was  noticed  an  aged  Ha¬ 
waiian  woman  of  ninety-three  winters,  who 
insisted  on  walking  the  entire  distance  of 
more  than  two  miles  from  the  capital  to  the 
cemetery,  that  she  might  thereby,  for  the 
last  time,  do  honor  to  her  former  sovereign. 

It  is  estimated  that  a  crowd  of  forty  thou¬ 
sand  souls  assembled,  comprising  a  score  of 
nationalities,  crowding  the  line  of  march,  to 
witness  the  last  spectacle  of  its  exact  kind 
the  world  shall  ever  see. 

Oddly  enough.  United  States  Senator 


(63) 


scene  at  the  royal  mausoleum,  showing  a  part  of  the  floral  contributions,  with  the  Queen’s  own  troop  of  Boy  Scouts 


William  H.  King,  of  Utah,  who  introduced 
in  Congress  the  first  resolution  to  annex 
Hawaii  to  the  United  States,  was  among 
the  party  of  sojourning  Congressmen,  and 
he  witnessed  the  final  obsequies  in  honor  of 
she  who  was  the  last  queen  of  the  kingdom 
which  his  resolution,  in  due  time,  converted 
into  a  United  States  Territory — but  of  such 
are  the  idiosyncracies  of  history. 

And  while  such  scenes  shall  never  be  en¬ 
acted  again,  in  real  life,  thanks  to  the  art  of 
photography,  those  just  past  are  to  live  in 
celluloid  and  prints  for  many  a  day.  Hun¬ 
dreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  cameras  were 
trained  on  every  important  ceremony  and 
action  that  took  place  in  the  church,  capitol, 
en  route  to  the  royal  burial  ground  and 
there  at  the  sanctified  spot  itself.  Too,  the 
moving  picture  men,  representing  the  great¬ 
est  syndicates  of  their  kind,  made  reel  upon 
reel,  preserving  for  aye,  if  it  be  desired,  a 
pictorial  record  of  the  passing  of  Hawaii’s 
last  sovereign  ;  and  with  her  the  last  vestige 
of  a  Kingdom  relegated  by  the  advance  of 
modern  politics  to  the  limbo  of  things  that 


(6s) 


were.  Even  unto  the  lowering  of  the  casket 
into  the  crypt,  where  lie  the  bodies  of  Ivala- 
kaua  and  others  of  his  dynasty,  were  these 
records  continued.  The  films  taken  must  be 
pregnant  with  the  fact  not  alone  was  Liliu 
honored  in  death  by  her  own  people ;  for 
representatives  of  the  races  of  the  civilized 
world  joined,  in  their  presence,  to  pay  final 
honor,  not  only  as  a  former  queen,  but  as  a 
beloved  woman  as  well,  to  she  who,  though 
deprived  of  the  scepter,  reigned  still  in  the 
hearts  of  her  people,  for  more  than  a  score 
of  years. 

The  funeral  procession  must  have  been 
more  than  two  miles  in  length,  for  as  the 
last  of  it  passed  the  gates  of  Iolani  palace, 
the  leaders  stood  at  the  mausoleum ;  giving 
a  place  of  honor  to  the  beautiful  floral 
piece  which  Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of 
the  United  States,  had  seen  fit  to  order  by 
cable,  as  his  personal  and  official  tribute  to 
Her  Majesty. 

There  were  approximately  seventy  contin¬ 
gents  to  the  procession,  including  a  dozen  or 
more  native  Hawaiian  societies. 


(67) 


Another  scene  at  the  royal  burying-ground,  showing  corner  of  the  mausoleum  at  the  right. 


As  the  casket  was  taken  down  from  the 
catafalque,  at  the  end  of  its  last  journey  and 
prepared  for  entrance  into  its  last  resting 
place,  and  while  the  sweet  strains  of  “Aloha 
Oe,”  the  sweetest  folk-song  of  Hawaii  nei, 
and  now  endeared  to  millions  of  Americans 
as  well,  filled  the  air;  unchecked  and  un¬ 
ashamed  tears  streamed  down  the  cheeks  of 
many,  particularly  of  Hawaiians,  as  they 
sensed  the  actuality  of  the  departure  of  the 
very  essence  of  their  dear  monarchial  days 
and  alii. 

The  clergy  droned  the  burial  ritual,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  further  weird  and  plain¬ 
tive  wailings  by  the  Hawaiians  who  sur¬ 
rounded  the  stone  parapet  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  the  combined  sounds  were  caught  by 
the  gentle  breeze  and  wafted  on  perfumed 
air  to  the  distant  corners  of  the  place  of 
tombs. 

As  the  “Star-Spangled  Banner”  was 
played,  the  military  stood  at  rigid  salute, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  reverent  crowd 
stood  with  bowed,  uncovered  heads. 

A  moment  later  the  honorary  pall-bear- 


(69) 


Replica  of  the  Crown  of  Hawaii,  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  Kalakaua 
dynasty,  the  motto  of  Hawaii  and  inscription  plate, 
mounted  on  the  casket  of  Hawaii’s  last  Monarch. 


ers  wheeled  the  casket  to  the  head  of  the 
stairway  leading  down  into  the  crypt;  and 
the  members  of  the  band  sang  "Hawaii 
Ponoi” — the  old  Hawaiian  national  anthem 
— "Hawaii  Forever."  The  mourners  drew, 
close  and  the  kahili-bearers  ceaselessly 
waved  their  royal  wands  in  a  fond  and  sad 
farewell.  The  brief  ritual  drew  to  its  close 
as  the  bishop  murmured  the  committal 
“Earth  to  earth,”  etc.,  while  another  rev¬ 
erend  formed  a  cross  of  the  earth  as  he 
sprinkled  it  upon  the  casket. 

The  casket  was  then  placed  on  the  car¬ 
riage-way  down  which  it  slipped,  guided  by 
the  hands  of  members  of  the  Order  of  Sons 
of  Kamehameha,  into  the  vault,  while  the 
choir  chanted  “Perfect  Peace.’  Then  again 
rose,  in  chanting  song,  the  Queen’s  own 
“Aloha  Oe,”  starting  with  the  members  of 
the  band  and  taken  up  by  the  kahili  bearers 
as  the  tropical  zephyr  carried  its  soft  and 
melodious  strains  down  with  the  queenly 
authoress  thereof,  into  the  depths  of  the 
death-manse,  there  to  be  with  her  down 
through  the  ages,  until  Gabriel’s  trumpet 
shall  awaken  all  sleeping  souls  in  the  eternal 
resurrection. 


(7i) 


Once  more  the  wailings  broke  out  afresh. 
The  kukui-nut  torch-bearers  snuffed  out 
their  lights ;  and  the  pall-bearers  returned 
slowly  up  the  steps,  some  with  streaming 
tears  making  new  grooves  down  their  per¬ 
spiring  cheeks.  From  across  the  street 
boomed  the  grave-side  salute  of  the  United 
States  artillerymen,  reverberating  in  three 
resounding  concussions,  and  as  the  last  salvo 
died  away,  the  gates  of  the  vault  clanged 
to,  forever  shutting  out  the  tumultuous 
world  from  the  peaceful  presence  of  the 
royal  remains  of  she  who,  though  Queen  no 
more,  had  been  the  most  beloved — for 
merely  the  woman  she  was — of-  all  the  en¬ 
tire  line  of  Hawaiian  Monarchs. 

For  the  soul  of  Liliuokalani,  who  had  be¬ 
lieved  devoutly  in  the  motto  handed  down 
to  her  people  by  Kamehameha  the  Great, 
founder  and  first  ruler  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Hawaii,  “Ua  mau  ka  ea  o  ka  aina  i  ka  pono” 
— the  life  of  the  land  is  established  in  right¬ 
eousness  ;  and  she  whose  personal  moto,  in 
addition  to  Kamehameha's,  had  been  “Oni 
paa,”  be  steadfast  —  had  winged  its  way 
from  the  soil  of  her  late  earthly  realm,  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Eternity. 


(72) 


v-'  I 


